Mephistos Bain
by Archangel337
Summary: Atma is captured by Mephisto, Geglash is on a mission to rescue her.
1. Atmas Capture

The night was damp and dreary in Lut Gholein. The cold air rose from the cobblestone street and through Atmas' slippers. An icy breeze meandering through the alley stirred her purple robes. As she turned to go back into her bar, she noticed a man out of the corner of her eye coming towards her. The air seemed to bend around him, making him grow darker as he drew closer. Startled and frightened, Atma didn't realize what she had run into before it was too late. The putrid stench of rotting flesh filled her lungs as an arm seized her by her shoulder. Her eyes opened as wide as they could go, staring Death in its hollow sockets. The decaying rags hanging off of the undead creature swayed gently with the breeze but it never moved. Atma opened her mouth to scream but fear clenched her throat. Remembering the first being she had seen, Atma writhed with despair and tried to howl. With every breath she drew, still no sound parted from her lips. Despite all of her efforts, only silence prevailed. With the silence, hope died. The presence of the man of shadows at her back was the same as last time. Mephisto... the Lord of Hatred. With a sigh, Atma cast her eyes towards the ground and relinquished all hope of being heard. A slight noise in the background caught her attention. A small bright light in the center of the corpse exploded into sunlight, blinding her for the moment. She instinctively flinched; little did she know her life depended on it. Opening her eyes, she greeted a foot of steel with a fear that chilled her bones. The walking dead crumpled to the ground and brought her with it. A masculine voice boomed from the back of the room, "Coward, face me! Leave the woman!" A tall, extremely broad man wrapped in thin mesh armor stood at the back of the room. Atma could see the bright whites of his eyes focused intently on the Demon standing above her.  
  
That voice... the words ran cold through Atmas mind. "NO! Geglash, RUN! You don't stand a chance. Please. If not for yourself, than for me..."  
  
Geglash hefted his spear and dropped his head. "Atma, I can't just..."  
  
"NO!" she replied, "You know you don't stand a chance. Now, leave! Seek the man Cain, he will tell you..."  
  
The Lord of Hatred spoke with a voice that filled the minds of the two with pressure and pain,  
  
"FOOL MAN. YOU DARE DEFY ME? HA... SO BE IT."  
  
The shadow surround the Demon convulsed and grew. Mephistos eyes burned with the mirth of a thousand damned soldiers. Geglash looked up, shocked, as the monster grew. He stared Mephisto in his eyes once again.  
  
Atma crouched under the shadow of death that now filled the doorway and reached to the ceiling. Run Geglash, run...  
  
The last thing she saw was a bright light encompassing the back half of the room, erupting into a violent spray of timber and flames.  
  
Drognan woke startled by what sounded like a hundred smithies striking their anvils at the same time. Wrapping his cloak around him, he sprinted outside of his hut and right into what appeared to be the mouth of Hell. Atmas' bar, the remnants at least, lay in a smoldering heap straight across from his own house.  
  
"Atma! Atma! Are you there!?"  
  
Please... he thought Oh dear God no. He can't be back. Tal Rasha saw to that nearly a decade ago.  
  
He ran to the back where Geglash had stayed that night. The cold desert air blew the smoke up and out of the city walls. Wishing he had more than slippers and a thin cloak, he picked his way over splintered chairs and tables to the side quarters. The door to the room lay on the ground and the inside was, for the most part, in tact, but there was nobody within. Turning out of the room to take in the scale of the damage, he noticed a slight movement beneath a few of the boards. Running over to them, Drognan bent down and lifted the splintered remains of a thick rafter from Geglashs' battered body. Hoping that he could walk was fruitless, so Drognan lifted him on his back and carried him to his place. The one room hut provided no light and little warmth, but it was better than outside. Drognans breath misted the air as he mixed vials of medicines to treat Geglashs' wounds.  
  
Minutes turned into hours and before Geglashs breathing had steadied, daylight had broke, the sun once again bringing all of the warmth it could muster. Several of the mercenaries under Greiz had showed to begin clearing the rubble, under order of King Jerhyn, no doubt. They knew nothing more than that Atmas bar had burned, and as long as they got paid, could care less why.  
  
Geglash opened his eyes letting the sunlight flood into his mind and try to cleanse it. There was a piercing pain in his ribs that kept him from tossing side to side, and kept him from rolling over to see the rest of the room he was in. He could sit up, but the instant he tried, the memory of what had happened promptly left him on his back again.  
  
"Atma..."  
  
The word caused bile to rise in his throat. How could he have let the Demon take her? He had to get her back.  
  
"Where am I? Arrrggghhhh.... It doesn't matter. I must find her."  
  
"Hold there, Geglash. You know as well as I you're in no shape to do anything."  
  
"Drognan? No, I can't wait. Atma needs me, I must go to her."  
  
"Geglash, you are physically incapable of going anywhere or doing anything, and don't worry about Atma, she wasn't there when the building collapsed."  
  
Geglashs' eyes closed as he heaved a sigh of relief. So he hasn't killed her.  
  
1 Oh Atma… If only I had been stronger. Wait… "Drognan, have you heard of a man by the name of Cain?"  
  
"Eh? Cain? Can't say that I have. You may want to ask the traveler Warriv. He stays at Elzixs inn at night, but he normally stays at the southern part of town, telling stories to King Jerhyn."  
  
"Thank you, Drognan. I must go speak to him immediately."  
  
"No. Heed what I say, I'm not here for my health, headstrong warrior. You must stay in bed, least 'til the next 'morrow comes."  
  
"Heh, you always were the doctoring kind, even though you would never admit it. Aye, that I will do. But you must tell this Warriv to wait for me and not leave town until I speak to him tomorrow."  
  
"Alright, friend. Now sleep. If you are going to do anything anytime soon, you must first rest. I have a few questions of my own for you, but not now. Sleep well, Geglash." 


	2. The Search Begins

The room was dark and damp, but far from cold. The smoldering heat seethed through the shackles searing Atmas wrists. Her head was throbbing and the room was spinning. She wasn't delirious, she couldn't be. The hours after Mephisto had taken her were gruesome. This is your punishment, he had said, but what she had done had to be done, for the sake of mankind. She just hoped that Geglash could find Cain soon. Her mind was deteriorating and there was no way to stop it now that it had started.  
  
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Geglash sat on a stool near the bar. Elzix gave him a curious looking glance out of the corner of his eye. The bandages would cause curiosity in most men. He only mildly sipped on his ale, he wanted to have a clear head for when the man Warriv arrived. The high vaulted ceiling gave the room an air of elegance, a sort of diamond in the rough. The city was once a giant trade center flourishing with people from every corner of the world. But all of that had changed since the drought had ensued. For five years no rain had fallen from the skies. The small force Lut Gholein had kept in its walls was merely for regulatory security, not at all prepared for the evil that seethed from the sand. The city was ransacked and torn from its once wondrous self. Geglash was the captain of the doomed soldiers at the time. They repelled the demonic beasts several times, but each time casualties were high. Fara, the metalworker, could not supply tall of the soldiers under Geglash with enough armor and weaponry to suffice. Before then she had done simple repair work to doorframes and such, now she was forced to supply the entire force with an armament. Every raid more and more soldiers either died or deserted until there were only a scant few left. In despair and for fear of his cities well being, King Jerhyn stooped as low as he could go and hired mercenaries, offering a bounty to the man who had the most kills. Hundreds flocked to Lut Gholein, thus eliminating the need for the now veteran soldiers. Most went home to their families, others followed the way of the mercenaries. The loss of his high position sent Geglash into a downward spiral, everyday drowning himself in ale at Atmas bar.  
  
That was over now. He had to concentrate on finding and saving Atma. She was the only one who ever listened, ever really cared. A short stocky man walked through the door. His thick clothes were heavily travel stained, his face was shaved, no doubt out of respect for the King. So this was Warriv, the man whom was supposed to help Geglash. He set down his mug and walked up to the squat man.  
  
"Warriv? You don't know who I am yet, but I have a few questions for you. This is no place to do it, though. Do you have a room? Good, lets go there." He was being overbearing, he knew, but there was not time to waste. Warriv seemed a tad intimidated, but moreover he looked irritated. It didn't matter, all Geglash needed was the whereabouts of Cain. They passed down the hall to the third door on the right. The room was small, cozy as Elzix would put it, but it only had enough room for one stool, a bed, and a small basin for washing. Warriv shuffled through the door and made his way to the bed. Geglash stepped inside and shut the door.  
  
"Now, what do you want with me? I haven't caused nobody no trouble."  
  
"Ah, no, it's nothing like that. I just wanted some information…"  
  
"What do you take me for, a spy? What I have seen in the palace I will just keep to myself."  
  
Perplexed and a little irritated, Geglash shook his head, "No, like I was trying to say. I want to know about a man by the name of Cain."  
  
Warrivs head cocked to the side like a bird, "Ahhhh… Deckard Cain, yes I know him. He came to the Rogue Encampment where I was staying just a few months back. He brought grave news of Tristram being destroyed. The only survivor, he was. A bright man, he claims to be a descendant of the Horadrim, although most people think of it as gibberish from a decaying mind. Either way, he is respected. His knowledge of the Arcane is great. Who knows, maybe he is a Horadric Warrior. Why do you ask?"  
  
"A friend told me to seek him. Is he still in this Rogue Encampment?"  
  
"Last that I had heard, yes. That is, when I left he was still there. As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, he mentioned going to Andariels tomb to study it, now that the demons inside have been quelled. It is a good couple of hundred miles from here but, I could show you the way, if you wanted."  
  
"When can you be ready?" It was a long shot yes, but Geglash had to talk to this man Cain.  
  
"So soon? Well, if it is that important, in a day or so."  
  
"Good, I will meet you outside of town tomorrow at noon. I still have one last thing to take care of." Geglash turned from the doorway and made his way down the hall. He still had one last thing to take care of.  
  
If only she cooperates, it will go smoothly. 


End file.
